Destiny
by maddie-nee-chan
Summary: Two girls leave their families on the same day: one comes from a rich, luxurious castle, and the other escapes from people who have never treated her like she was family. Was it just by luck that they met each other? Or was it fate? [Lucy x Erza friendship, everything else is a surprise. Rated T for reasons.]
1. Chapter 1

_Yoo, everyone! So, again, I have decided to write a Fairy Tail story, and no, I am not yet done with Cherry Blossoms or Bits and Pieces but I got bored and I suddenly had a fantastic idea for an AU story. So yeah, I'm sure this will suck terribly, but I guess I just want to hear your opinion on it and stuff. Ah, well. And yes, the title is 'Destiny' for now, which is an extremely crappy title, so I may (or may not) change it afterwards._

_So...enjoy, I guess! And please review!_

* * *

**D**estiny

**C**hapter **I**

**S**aviors

_Who are you? Do you even know who you are anymore? _

My eyes shot open. I was breathing heavily. And I was sweating too, although it wasn't even hot. I didn't know where I was. Honestly, I didn't know what I was doing either. And then, I remembered: _I'm running from my own destiny_. And although I've always believed in fighting my fears, I was frightened. I was too frightened to do anything. I couldn't even think. And in the process of not thinking, I'd done the most irrational and unimaginable thing: I'd tried to drown myself by jumping from a boat. I don't know why I'd done it. Perhaps it was because of those words that I'd heard over and over again ever since I'd stepped on that boat and tried to run away two weeks ago.

_Who are you? Do you even know who you are anymore?_

I knew who I was. Of course I knew. I'm Erza Scarlet, a runaway. I ran away from my family to find peace. And I found peace. Actually, not exactly. Instead of finding peace, I found a boat. A boat called 'P.E.A.C.E.' And that's where my journey started, a terribly long and horrible journey which eventually led to me trying to kill myself. And now, I was awake. I hadn't died. That is, unless heaven was a dark and sandy place where the air tasted like salt. I was incredibly exhausted, for some reason. My head hurt, and my legs were so numb, I couldn't even feel them. How did I even survive? _Who saved me?_

I didn't have to wonder for long, though, because less than a mile away, I noticed two people approaching me. My saviors. Or not.

There was a girl and a boy; both seemed to be around my age. The girl had dark blue hair. She wore a black dress coat with fur trimmings around the neck. The boy wore a black jacket and white knee-length trousers. And what kind of hair colour was that? _Pink?_

When they finally reached me, none of us spoke. I simply watched as the two of them looked at each other nervously. Then, the one with pink hair made a gesture with his hands, as if telling the girl to start speaking first. The girl shook her head, looking embarrassed. I watched the two of them silently argue for a while, until I just couldn't take it anymore.

"Just get on with it, will you?" I snapped. I think it sounded more like a growl, though, and I shouldn't have said it like that, but it did startle the two of them enough to make them realize that they had to say something.

"Um," the girl said, twiddling her thumbs, "we would like to, uh, welcome you to, er, our island."

"And?" the boy prompted.

"And you're supposed to say the rest, don't make me do everything!" the girl hissed.

The boy rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said. Then, he smiled. And suddenly, the moment he smiled, I felt something different. I was no longer frightened, tired, irritated or annoyed. I felt...happy. And I didn't understand why seeing a boy smile had made me that happy.

"Hey," he said, grinning. "My name's Natsu Dragneel. This weirdo here is Juvia."

"I do have a surname, you know," Juvia said irritably.

"Yeah, yeah, that," Natsu said as if it didn't matter. "What's your name?"

"Erza," I answered slowly.

"Hey, Erza," Natsu smiled, and so did Juvia. "Nice to meet you."

"You, too," I said, smiling a little. They didn't seem like bad people.

Natsu continued, "So, Juvia pretty much said it for me. Welcome to the island! And I bet you have tons of questions for us, and we're more than happy to answer them for you. So -"

"First," Juvia said through gritted teeth, nudging Natsu in the ribs, "we must get you up and take you to Porlyusica-san. Here, Natsu, can you carry her from there -"

"It's okay," I said. "I can get up." I tried getting up, but before I could even sit up straight, I realized it was impossible. "Why can't I...what's wrong with me?"

"Um," Juvia said, glancing nervously at Natsu. Natsu returned her look, and the two of them stared at me. They looked upset and worried, and maybe even a little frightened when they saw me. For a second, I was embarrassed. Why were they looking at me like that?

"Is-Is something wrong?" Erza asked hesitantly.

"I think you should just let us carry you, Erza-san," Juvia said, biting her lip. Natsu nodded in agreement. I stared at them, completely confused. They picked me up, and for some reason, I let them carry me. They were unusually strong; I didn't expect them to be able to pick me up, but somehow they could. The boy looked strong; you could tell just by taking one glance at him. The girl didn't look as strong as him, but she seemed to be incredibly powerful in her own way.

They led me far away. I couldn't tell where we were going, since I was being carried by the two of them and the only thing I could see was the large canopy of trees overhead. We were in the forest. In a deep, seemingly never-ending forest. Occasionally, I glanced at the people carrying me. Juvia seemed to be avoiding my eyes, and Natsu just looked at me as if he pitied me.

Finally, we reached a clearing. I lifted my head to see what it was like, but Juvia gently pushed my head down again and told me to rest. Natsu then told her to take care of me and ran away, muttering something about 'medicines and Porlyusica-san'. _Who is this Porlyusica-san anyway? Why isn't anyone telling me anything?_ As Juvia lay me down on what felt like a bed, I decided that I couldn't let them do this. I had to know what was going on.

"What's going on?" I demanded. "If you think you can even try anything unusual, I'll -"

"Please be calm, Erza-san," Juvia said, turning to me. Suddenly, I noticed the look in her eyes. It was as if she didn't know what was going to happen herself. She was telling me to fight. She was telling me to believe everything would be okay.

That moment, I remembered the numb feeling in my legs. "Juvia, can I please take a look at my legs?"

Juvia froze. She opened her mouth, but was interrupted by the sound of a door swinging open. She turned around to see who it is, and she looked slightly, if not extremely, relieved. "Porlyusica-san -"

"Out of the room," a hoarse voice replied. I could tell it was the voice of an old lady, probably the famous Porlyusica-san I'd heard so much about. "This is between me and the patient."

Juvia nodded hurriedly, and giving me one last sympathetic glance, ran out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

I could hear footsteps coming closer to me. Soon, I saw Porlyusica-san. She was indeed an old lady, and had pink hair like Natsu, except it was much pinker compared to Natsu's.

"You must be Erza," Porlyusica-san said in a tone which was a mixture of disgust and interest.

"Is there something wrong with that?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Not at all," Porlyusica-san said, shaking her head. "Don't take it personally. I just hate human beings in general."

"I see," I said, without asking any further questions. I did, of course, have several to ask, but at that moment I was too exhausted to do that.

"Now, Erza," Porlyusica-san said slowly, "I believe your legs have been infected with a very rare kind of poison. It is the poison of a Tenrou Sea Serpent, and it increases the longer you stay in water."

I froze. Was this why Natsu and Juvia had been looking at me like that? Was this why my legs had felt numb ever since I'd woken up? Was this why I couldn't walk at all and had to be carried to Porlyusica-san by those two?

"Is it incurable?" was my first question. Of course, I had tried to die. But somehow, the prospect of a slow and painful death was much worse than suddenly dying.

"No, it isn't," Porlyusica-san said. "In fact, if you'd been left in the water for even a little longer, it definitely would have been incurable."

"How did I get out?"

"Well," Porlyusica-san sighed, "it's all thanks do your dear friend Juvia here. She isn't much help on land, but she is a fantastic swimmer and for some unknown reason is much more powerful when she is around water. I can understand her sometimes. The water is, after all, very calm and peaceful at times, but at other times it is a great weapon."

I was silent. "Why did she do that? I'm a stranger to her."

Porlyusica-san snorted. "How would I know? Humans are strange. Their feelings are too complicated for someone like me to understand. When you're healed, I suggest you ask her yourself."

I remained quiet for a while. Then, I said, "Thank you, Porlyusica-san."

I noticed the surprise on Porlyusica-san's face when I said that. She hid her face. "Don't thank me, you obnoxious twit. I'm not the one who saved you."

I smiled. Porlyusica-san turned to see me, and smiled a little in return.

"Now close your eyes," she said softly.

I listened to her and closed them.

"Now," she said gently, "sleep."

* * *

_Right, that's it for now. I might continue this, if I want to. Well, let's see about it once my exams are over. Well then, goodbye for now, and I hope you enjoyed this as a first chapter. Review! (and as usual, yes, you are allowed to scream at me if I make any mistakes)_

_~maddie-nee-chan_


	2. Chapter 2

_LOOK WHO'S BAAAAAAACK! Yeah, well, spoiler alert: I'm back. No surprise there. Actually, it kind of is a surprise, but that's not the point. So I'm really tired right now, and I don't feel like saying anything in introduction to this other than "I tried." I seriously did. It's up to you, though, you're the judge. I apologize for it being so incredibly short though. I didn't mean that, honestly. It should've been longer. Blame me for having writers' block._

_Sooooo, well, I apologize for the long wait, seriously, I suck. But I still hope you enjoy it^^ okay so happy reading, and enjoy!_

* * *

I opened my eyes. I looked around me. There were people in the room other than me. I already recognize one of them: a girl with blue, curly hair. There was one more, though, a boy with blue hair. I'd never seen him.

The girl with blue hair was talking to the new boy in a low voice. She had a serious expression on her face, and she seemed to be upset about something. As soon as she saw me, her eyes lit up. "Erza-san!"

"Hello, Juvia," I said as Juvia ran up to me. She scanned my face and looked into my eyes.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked with a concerned expression on her face.

"I'm all right," I answered. I tried moving my leg. It worked. Good, at least one part of me was alive.

"Good," Juvia said, and I could tell she was relieved. She then turned around and called, "Hey, Jellal, she's up!"

The boy with blue hair, who'd been facing the other way till then, turned around. For the first time, I saw his face properly. As soon as I saw him, I felt unusual. It was as if I'd seen him somewhere before, in an old memory, and I didn't want to remember it. He showed no sign of recognizing me, though, and simply looked at me and waved.

"So, Erza-san, this is Jellal Fernandes," Juvia said. "He's our...friend."

I raised an eyebrow.

Juvia cleared her throat. "I mean, he works for the Core, just like Natsu and me."

"The Core?" I asked.

"That's the organization this island -" Juvia started, but was interrupted by Jellal.

"That's enough, Juvia," he muttered quietly. Juvia bit her lip. Jellal turned to me. "What is your surname, Erza?"

I didn't trust Jellal. I didn't want to tell him anything about me. He seemed suspicious. I didn't understand why I felt like I knew him. I had to be cautious around him.

Even so, I told them. If they tried to hurt me, I could defend myself, and if necessary, I'd annihilate the entire island.

"Scarlet," I replied.

"Ah, beautiful," he said, smiling, "just like your scarlet hair."

I looked away from him and out the window. "If you're here to tease me about my hair, I'll let you know that blue has always been my least favourite colour."

"Hey!" Juvia exclaimed, crossing her arms. "He's not the only one with blue hair here."

"I'm sorry, Juvia," I said, trying my best to smile apologetically at her. "He knows who I'm talking about."

To my surprise, Jellal laughed. "I'm actually quite impressed - I was afraid you'd only reply to me in monosyllables. But no, I'm not teasing you. I think your hair is actually quite...beautiful."

I turned back to look at him. Obviously, he was toying with me, trying to flatter me. You could tell just by taking one look at his sly smile.

"Whatever," I replied. "Why do you need to know my surname anyway?"

"Because..." Jellal turned to Juvia, as if he wanted her to give him permission to tell me. She nodded slightly, but glanced at me once, looking worried again.

"Your name is Erza Scarlet," he began slowly. "This means that your initials are ES."

"Yes, so?" I asked.

"It's her," Juvia said suddenly. Jellal and I turned to her. She swallowed and said, "I mean, Erza-san, it's...you."

"What's me?" I asked impatiently. Unfortunately, I had a habit of becoming really impatient at times, especially when people talked to me cryptically. It pissed me off, and pissing me off wasn't good for either me or the person I was mad at.

"The Galuna Prophecy," Juvia said, ignoring Jellal, who tried to interrupt her. "You need to hear about it."

Jellal muttered, "Juvia, the prophecy is top-secret information, you can't just—"

"It's important, she needs to know," Juvia said, sending Jellal a death glare to silence him. She turned to me. "The prophecy is about...a girl. Actually, two girls."

I continued staring at her. Did she think that I was one of those girls? I wanted to ask, but I waited for her to complete what she was saying.

"Several centuries ago—perhaps 400 years—there lived an extremely powerful oracle," Juvia continued. "Her name was Mavis Vermilion. She was young when she first discovered her powers, and her so-called Vision, or her ability to see the future. Everyone thought she was a fraud, and she was faking it. However, after she recited the Galuna Prophecy, everything changed. Mavis died right after she'd said it, though. After her death, the island was left in a state of chaos and confusion. No one could make sense of the prophecy, because no matter which way they looked at it, it reminded them of the fact that Mavis had died right after predicting it. Was it just a simple coincidence? Or was it all interconnected? Truthfully, even after 400 years, we still don't know the cause of Mavis's death and until now, we haven't been able to make sense of the prophecy."

So she really did think that I was one of the people mentioned in the prophecy. I shook my head. "I know what you're thinking—"

"Please listen to me, Erza-san, because you can help us all," Juvia pleaded. I looked at her, at the desperation in her eyes, as if I was their last hope. _How is it possible? How could I help someone I barely know? And it's not just some one, it's an entire island...how could they depend on me, a stranger?_ "You have to hear the prophecy."

"Juvia, you can't—"

"I don't take orders from anyone other than Gray-sama, especially not you," Juvia eyed Jellal with disgust, and then turned back to me. "So, the prophecy." She took a deep breath.

_"In a land surrounded by water on all sides,_  
_Two girls of lands beyond together will fight_  
_Humanity depends on sunshine and blood_  
_But must be willing to sacrifice the ones that they love_  
_If they wish to be saved from the crimson flood."_

I honestly didn't know what to think after listening to the prophecy. I literally sat there and stared at Juvia, completely stunned and speechless. How exactly was I supposed to react to that? And how could they just simply assume that I wanted to help them?

"Erza-san, you're our last hope," Juvia said helplessly. "Please."

Right, so they were correct about one thing: I did want to help them. They'd helped me. I needed to thank them for it. But...how could I help them? I was a nobody. I'd always been a nobody. Being a nobody was what I was used to, and I wasn't ready to get used to anything else. I didn't want to get ready for anything else.

"I really can't, Juvia," I sighed. "I'm sorry."

Juvia studied me for a moment, then sighed. "You just don't believe in yourself."

"I—" I began, but was cut off by Jellal.

"That's enough," he said sternly. He looked into my eyes. "I'm sorry. You're right. You're not the right person for this. Juvia just doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut."

Juvia looked away. "I'm going to Gray-sama," she muttered, waking out of the door.

I was left alone in the room with Jellal. For a few minutes, he simply stood there, deep in thought, and sighed occasionally. After a while, he looked at me, and simply said, "I wish it was the real you." Saying this, he walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

And I wish I knew what he meant when he said that.

* * *

_Well, that's over now. I hope you enjoyed it! Again, I shall say what I say every time: you are welcome to scream at me as much as you'd like for sucking so bad, but hopefully you won't have to. Now, I shall leave. Hope you liked it, and please review! (or follow or favourite or anything)_

_~maddie-nee-chan_


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